Another Clairton Success Story

Clairton lad with style

One of Clairton’s stalwart families: If you grew up in Clairton anytime past the World War II era you remember the Julian families. They were civic-minded people who provided community service, were in business, and worked in the steel mills. One of the Julians had a son in the early 1960s. Dad worked in the steel mills as an electrician but like so many parents in Clairton, wanted something better for his son. Tom wanted something better too. After graduating from parochial school he earned a scholarship to Robert Morris University. Just as he had done as a youth, and would continue to do as an adult, Tom Julian reached beyond his grasp. He majored in Marketing.

Marketing? The common sense thing to do would be to major in something that could perhaps get him a white-hat (management) job in the mill. But Marketing?

It is said that giftedness in a human being is the ability to look at something and see something else. Perhaps that is what Tom saw when he enrolled in the Intro to Marketing course. Perhaps he saw a world far beyond Clairton that was his for the taking. To help pay his way through college Tom took a job in a Men’s Fashion store in Century III mall called the Proving Ground. Although it was just a part time job, new possibilities began to develop in the mind of young Tom. He was fascinated by style and fashion and used what he learned to his advantage in the classroom.

He could see that he needed to expand his horizons in the fashion industry if he planned a career in the field so as a senior he secured an unpaid internship at Pittsburgh’s Preview Magazine. That experience expanded his knowledge in business and women’s fashion but it cost him about $20 per day in transportation to donate his time! No problem, it was just one more tuition to pay.

By 1984 as graduation neared he took a job as assistant store manager at the Gucci store in downtown Pittsburgh’s Oxford Centre. The following year he took a position at the Barchetti Shops; the store became his classroom and its owner his professor

Those of us who have roots in Clairton have had those roots fertilized with hard work. We might not have known the term “multi-tasking,” but we sure knew how to do it. Most Clairtonians who became successful did so with hard work and multiple challenges. It was no different with Tom Julian. While working at the retail stores he continued his internship at Preview magazine. The work he did, his versatility, and the contacts he made led to an invitation to the Men's Fashion Association Press Preview in Atlanta. The Association was so impressed with young Mr. Julian that they offered him the position of assistant fashion director in their Madison Avenue offices in New York. From there he moved to Fallon Worldwide, an international advertising agency as a trend analyst. His clients included Nordstrom, Lee Jeans, Starbucks, United Airlines, Citibank and BMW. He moved to another agency, McCann-Erickson then opened his own firm, Tom Julian Group.

By this time trend expert Tom Julian proudly launched Tom Julian Group. He was able to transfer his skills into the marketing arena, as a cutting edge guru of lifestyle, culture and entertainment. Tom was able to market many industries including retail, financial, automotive and hospitality.

Of course, his “instant success” took more than 20 years to achieve, but every one was a learning year.

I asked Tom to share some of his memories of Clairton and these are his reflections:

"MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF CLAIRTON ARE ELEMENTS THAT MADE IT A VIBRANT CITY AS WELL AS COMMUNITY. THE INDEPENDENT SHOPS ALONG MILLER AVE. AND ST. CLAIR. THE SPECTRUM OF CLOTHING STORES -- CMARADA'S, SKAPIK'S, HARRIS SHOP, DICESARE'S, AS WELL AS ISALY'S AND THE RECORD SHOP. AND THAT WE HAD A GREAT SPORTS SHOP TOO. IN ADDITION, WE HAD JEWELRY FR TEPERS, FURNITURE AT BELAIR, MOVIE THEATERS AND CHAINS LIKE G.C. MURPHY AND THRIFT DRUG.

ALWAYS ENJOYED GOING TO THE LIBRARY FOR SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS. THOUGHT THAT IT HAD SOME OF THE BEST -- A CHILDREN'S FLOOR AS WELL AS ALL THE RESEARCH NEEDED TO COMPLETE PROJECTS.

THE COMMUNITY REALLY CAME TO LIFE THROUGH CLAIRTON PARK IN THE SUMMER AT THE POOL AS WELL AS HOLIDAYS WITH PROGRAMS AND FIREWORKS. AS WELL AS SO MANY OF THE BUSINESSES WERE FAMILY-OWNED AND WE KNEW ALL THE FAMILIES -- GRISNIK'S FOR BAKERY, RUSSO'S FOR HARDWARE, LIVINGSTON'S FOR DRUGS, BRAUM'S FOR GROCERY, JULIOT'S FOR PIZZA AND MORE.

THIS CITY WAS A RESULT OF CLAIRTON STEEL WORKS BUT THE PEOPLE HELPED TO MAKE IT MORE OF A COMMUNITY..."

From fashionista to trend analyst to self-employed guru to author, Tom’s debut in the book world, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Style was a huge success. His book was so successful that he was urged to write a follow-up book, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Everyday Dressing.

Tom is also a commentator for the web site Oscar.com. For more information on Tom Julian and his company, visit www.tomjuliangroup.com. Also, you may follow him on Twitter @tomjuliangroup for updates! To purchase his first book, visit www.amazon.com.

Tom Julian, Clairton boy.

A little blogging music Maestro... My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

Of Scientists and Educators

Clairton Successes

Clairton yields failures? Anybody who reads the paper or listens to the airwaves in the greater Pittsburgh area has heard it. Clairton is home to a bunch of losers. Being a minority in Clairton is a double whammy. That’s the way is it and that’s the way it always will be. No consideration is made for the young men on the two-time state championship football team who will go on to college and earn degrees. No consideration is made for the dozens of this year’s grads who will go on to community college, university, or other post-secondary schooling. Many would rather believe the stereotypes.

But suppose a poor minority lad was born and raised in the poorest section of town. Let’s further assume this lad’s parents had little schooling themselves. Say the kid was a good football layer AND a good student as well as a bit of a rabble rouser. You know the type. The kind of kid who, along with a few of his fellow jocks made trouble for the school administration and caused them to open up the cheerleading squad to all races. The administration would be happy when he graduated and took his football swagger to Washington and Jefferson.

But let’s say once he got to college and a coach wanted to put him into typical “jock” classes, he refused and instead demanded to take the most challenging courses that the “other kids” were taking. Maybe this type of student would return home during the summer and along with eight fellow students, press U.S. Steel for employment. Finally, this young man would graduate with honors and a stellar career on the field as well as in leadership roles in student government. Such a resume would make him a no-brainer to hire, one would think. He chose to be a scientist because he did not see other black scientists. Finding a company to hire him would prove to be daunting but he would persevere.

The year was 1932, the young man was Walter Cooper and in his own words, “I looked around and I saw black doctors, black lawyers, but no black scientists. I chose that as a challenge.” He went on to receive advanced degrees including a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Rochester in 1956 and was quickly snatched up by Eastman Kodak Company as a research scientist and continued to work there for the next thirty years, earning three patents and publishing many research documents.

Dr. Cooper not worked as a scientist by day but was also heavily involved in community development and civil rights issues, particular on those that involved educational opportunities and motivation. He saw business and enterprise as a means to achieve equal opportunity. His efforts earned him numerous awards including an honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, W&J. Just a few of his many honors and distinctions include serving as the Chairman of the Education Committee of the NAACP, Chairman of the Urban League’s education sub-committee, Board of Trustees at Washington and Jefferson, Regent of the State of New York, Board of Directors of the Genesee Hospital and Rochester General Hospital, and a list of other leadership roles and awards. Clairton High School should require the reading of Dr. Cooper’s papers mandatory reading. His oft-quoted comment, “Not to educate a child is the worst form of child abuse,” sums up Dr. Cooper’s philosophy. Dr. William Cooper, Clairton lad. But wait, there’s more, an elementary school was recently named in his honor and my best guess is that he is the only Clairtonian who has been named Chevalier of The Republic of Mali.

Another Clairton athlete: Dr. Cooper is not the only successful athlete to hail from Clairton. There have been legions of every race, color, gender, and creed. One such athlete is Nikki Soich, an accomplished equestrian and horse trainer whose horse recently participated in the Pan American games and is a contender to take part in the Olympics. Nikki Soich, Clairton lass.

Clairton Schools: A changing of the guard will occur in the Clairton schools. Superintendent Lucille Abellonio will retire from the district on June 29 after four decades in education. She became assistant superintendent of Clairton in 2007 and became superintendent a year later. Under her leadership about 34 percent of the district's students have met or exceeded state standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. She will be replaced by Wade Killmeyer, 53, area superintendent of Avella and former superintendent of Washington County. Killmeyer holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Duquesne University, a masters in secondary math from Slippery Rock University, a masters in English literature from the University of Maryland, a bachelor's in computer science and a bachelor's in math, both from the University of Pittsburgh.

Clairton passings: Among those Clairtonians who passed on this week are Frank Mincone, age 82, John Gimliano, 92, Raymond Sisco, 92, and John Hemenic, 92.
A little blogging music Maestro.... “Be True to Your School” by the Beachboys.


Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

Remembering Clairton

I have a hard time letting go...

Clairton will always be my hometown: I was born during World War II… you remember that era; it was in all the papers. I grew up in Clairton during the 1940s and 1950s and as my not-so-stellar high school career was winding down I yearned to be ABC; Anywhere but Clairton. College was not in MY plans, but I did not make the plans, my father did. And he decreed that despite my desires (which did not factor into the decision) and my disdain for post-secondary education, I WOULD attend college. Thus, when a classmate told me about her plans to attend college some 2,000 miles away from the City of Prayer, I decided to apply to the same school. The only thing I knew about the school was its name was 22 letters long (Brigham Young University) and that Provo, Utah was far away from Clairton, PA.

Four years on the Wasatch Front: BYU is located between two mountain ranges. There is a giant block letter Y halfway up the mountain that freshmen are required to whitewash each year. The campus is beautiful as is the surrounding area. I did not come home the summer after my freshman year and came home only briefly the summer after my sophomore year as I prepared to attend a semester at a small sister college of BYU located in Laie, Hawaii. After college I spent a few years in Idaho and Utah before settling in Las Vegas in the late 1960s and have lived there ever since.

The romance of living away: My three sisters attended college in Eastern PA. One settled in Hershey and the other two in the greater Pittsburgh area so when I returned home to visit I had many tales to regale the family with of my adventures out west. One time, while living in Pocatello, Idaho I drove back for a visit. By this time I’d gone western complete with boots, jeans, and a shirt that snapped instead of buttoned.

During the 1950s and 60s if one did not have a car several means of transportation were available: shoe-leather express, the bus, or thumbing a ride. As I was driving through McKeesport en route to home I saw a classmate hitch-hiking on the corner so I stopped for him. He looked at me and said, “Andy... is that you?” I nodded and he asked where I’d been for the past several years and I replied that I was currently living in Idaho. To which he replied, “IDAHO!!!? Where the Hell’s Idaho?” It was always fun to return to visit family and friends but I was “an easterner by birth but a westerner by choice.

The price of living away: As I aged and matured, reared a family and settled into my life in the west, and became my own person, I felt comfortable. The air was clean, the weather was warm, opportunities abounded that would never have been open to me had I stayed in Clairton. Life was good. But there was a downside. My children would never get to know their cousins, family matters were generally decided without my input, and simple things that one takes for granted such as stopping by the home of a family member for coffee and a chat were impossible. As my parents aged my concerns about things like my elderly father driving and the safety of my parents in the old neighborhood weighed heavily on my mind. I began to return home more frequently to visit them and reassure myself that everything was ok. First the cross-country trips took place every six months, then every other month, and eventually two or three times per month.

The decade of the 2000s were the worst. Six months to the day after 9/11 my 87-year old father passed away on my grandson’s birthday. Two years later my daughter passed away unexpectedly and two years after that my mother died during her 91st year. It was during that time that Clairton began tugging at my soul and I began to write this blog.

Blogging as therapy: Writing about my hometown was cathartic. It somehow atoned for all the time I’d spent away while my community of birth was losing its soul. Time had not been kind to Clairton. The once proud, bustling community of 20,000 and home to four movie theaters and a dozen or so car dealerships, the only area high school with a swimming pool, a top notch education system, good paying job opportunities for its citizens, a football team, and award-winning band that were the envy of the Monongahela Valley was dealt blow after blow. Mills closed cutting off the economic lifeblood of the area, businesses closed, those who were able left, and the population dwindled. My efforts were intended to keep the memory of the halcyon days of Clairton alive while respecting the community that still exists.

Down but not out: Clairton was deeply wounded by socio-economic changes but it simply refused to die. The Chamber of Commerce found creative ways to provide help, community members continued to serve on City commissions and school boards, and the football team rose from the ashes like a phoenix to become a state powerhouse. My most recent involvement was to help spread the word that the school needed to raise money to purchase championship rings for a team that had won unprecedented back-to-back state titles. My blog readers answered the call for help and in a short amount of time had exceeded the fundraising goal by more than $3,000.00; no easy feat especially in these difficult economic times.

 

Time flies: Just as the past 50 years since I left Clairton has flown by for me so has the past year flown by. On this date one year ago I wrote the following:

“The year 1917 is ancient history to most of us. U.S. enters World War I, the U.S. bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million, San Francisco launched its streetcars, illegal immigration bill was fought in Congress (regarding Chinese), Russian Revolution begins, Congress passes excessive profits tax on corporations, Raggedy Ann doll invented, women given the vote in New York, Father Flanagan forms Boys Town, and most members of the Clairton High School class of 1935 are born.”

Jennie Peterson, with the help of daughter Diane, helped to organize a 75th high school reunion of the class of 1935. My classmate, Anna Marie Bochter, a crucial component of the annual Clairton reunions, sent the photos of those proud lads and lasses who at age 18 could not envision celebrating their 75th reunion.

A little blogging music Maestro... “My Hometown,” by Bruce Springsteen

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com